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Sowbugs and Pillbugs in Gardens
- Tiny armadillos! -
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Summary: Normally these small crustaceans don't harm anything in the garden. Occasionally, however, the populations may grow and begin to feed on and damage seedlings. At these times steps should be taken to protect young plants. They can also sometimes enter homes to escape flooding or in search of water.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist (ret.)
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What are sowbugs, pillbugs, or woodlice?
 Sowbugs, pillbugs, or woodlice [more pictures] are small land crustaceans, actually related to shrimp, that are common in gardens. They are roughly a 1/4" long, gray to brown in color, have many pairs of legs and a segmented body, and are often found in groups under rocks or debris where the soil is damp. Pillbugs roll into a ball when disturbed; sowbugs do not roll up this way but otherwise they are very similar.
Sowbugs and pillbugs normally don't harm garden plants. They feed mostly on dead organic debris but occasionally may damage young garden plants. Two situations occur that cause gardeners and homeowners some concern.
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Sowbugs and pillbugs are found in moist habitats under rocks and debris. Photo by E. DeAngelis copyright 2006
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Sometimes tender, young garden seedlings are damaged, similar to slug damage. This plant damage only occurs when very high populations of these critters are allowed to develop and when very young plants are present. Plant injury is pretty rare and can usually be easily managed.
other common names: woodlice (wood louse), lawn shrimp, rollie-pollie (pillbug), rolly-polly, tumblebug, doodlebug
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The second way sowbugs and pillbugs cause problems is when populations grow out of control and occur in such high numbers that they alarm people. At these times they may enter houses following rains when outside soils become saturated. Sowbugs found indoors won't cause any damage and can be simply swept up.
Can sowbugs and pillbugs be managed?
In one sense high numbers of these critters is a good thing-- it means that your garden soils are rich in organic matter and healthy. You can reduce the populations, however, by reducing the amount of organic matter that you add to the garden, such as compost, and cutting back on the frequency of watering. If the soil is allowed to go through natural dry/wet cycle sowbug and pillbug numbers will be reduced.
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Protect seedlings with diatomaceous earth
Gardeners can use diatomaceous earth to manage sowbug and pillbug damage to young seedlings. Place a thin layer of this natural product directly over the seed bed. There is also a new formulation of Sluggo slug bait that contains spinosad, a natural insecticide that can be used to safely manage earwigs and sowbugs/pillbugs in the garden (right).
Finally, there are synthetic insecticides, for example carbaryl, that can be used for sowbug/pillbug control. Check your local garden store's insecticide shelf and look for sowbugs or pillbugs on the product labels.
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